There's always a time when everything should be put to a stop.... Every desire, temptation, history, and conflict. Perez couldn't let his guard down by falling for any of it, despite the dreams he had. He had to put a stop to its matters.FLASHBACK CONT'DIt just took a notification to make him realize what would have thrown him off guard if it were months ago.... A message from his unfinished past, the heiress.... He stared at his phone screen which glowed with a message from Alex.... Natasha's driver "She wants to speak with you? Mr Perez""Time to put an end to this for good" Perez whispered to himself *********An hour later, he was sitting across from her in a quiet lounge. Natasha hadn't changed... She still remained the smug, seductive and irresistible young lady who could pull the strings of any young man she wanted."You've done well for yourself...." she saidPerez almost smiled, he leaned back in his chair "what made you reach out? Is it because you've probably seen me on

One afternoon, Victoria sat alone in a small café a few blocks away from Aurex' headquarters. Her laptop was open and her notebook laid beside it, several pages were scattered across the table; each filled with crossed-out words, written ideas, unfinished sentences. The article was slowly taking shape, she tapped her pen against the table then began typing again...."Success changes people or perhaps it simply reveals who they were all along"She stopped, no, deleted it.... "Behind every growing empire is a person learning how to carry the weight of becoming visible"She paused, better but still not on point.... She leaned back in her chair and sighed.Why was this so difficult? She had written dozens of articles before yet this one felt strangely personal.The TV screen lit up and caught her attention, it displayed the past clips on Perez' wonder works at Lockwood.... There was always someone standing beside him in most pictures, her name was boldly casted on the screen, Amara Vale.

The days that followed became strangely familiar. Victoria would walk into Aurex and Perez would already be there. Well of course, but then she would turn a cand he'd be walking out of an elevator or she would be reviewing notes in the lounge, and he'd appear beside the coffee machine. It was almost ridiculous and yet neither of them ever mentioned it.They simply exchanged glances, a nod, a greeting, then continued with their day.... Professional and controlled, atleast that's what Perez was telling himself.... Because Victoria was becoming a distraction, a dangerous one. Because unlike Natasha and Amara, she wasn't demanding anything from him, neither was she chasing nor trying to pull him into a complicated situation. She was simply there.*******That evening, Perez walked out of his office with a file tucked beneath his arms, most of the building was empty as the cleaning staff started moving through the hallways..... The lights were switched off in most of the offices then he no